Armenian alphabet that was sent to space and returned back to Earth will be given to Armenian side

Today, the Armenian Delegation, at the “Zvyozdni Gorodok” city of Moscow region, is to take part in the activities organized in the frameworks of the festive events dedicated to 500th anniversary of Armenian typography. The Armenian alphabet that was sent to space and returned back to Earth by the “ROSCOSMOS” federative space agency will be officially handed to the Armenian side, the Armenian Culture Ministry reported.

The source informs that from December 13 to15 RA Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan as a representative of the Armenian Republic in Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation of CIS countries will attend the Humanitarian Cooperation Council and IFHC joint session in Moscow.

In the delegation headed by RA Culture Minister H. Poghosyan are included Amatuni Virabyan, the Director of National Archives of Armenia, Viktor Krivopuskov, head of the Armenian Representation of “ROSSOTRUDNICHESTVO” Federative Agency, etc. Source: Panorama.am

YEREVAN. - The Greco-Roman wrestling national team of Armenia took
part in an A-class international tournament in Denmark, where it
competed against Hungary, Germany, France, Norway, Finland, and the
host nation.

The Armenian wrestles won a total of seven medals and captured first
place in overall team standings. Sasun Ghambaryan, Artur Shahinyan,
and London Olympics bronze-medalist Artur Aleksanyan won gold; Tigran
Torosyan and Sargis Tonoyan took silver; and Aram Julfalakyan and
Maksim Manukyan received bronze medals at the event.

Next, the national team athletes will take part in a training camp
that will get underway Sunday in Armenia's capital city Yerevan, the
Sport and Youth Affairs Ministry website informs.

YEREVAN, JANUARY 30, ARMENPRESS: Varujan Hakobyan has been announced
chess champion of American continent. As Armenpress was informed,
being in USA team, grandmaster Varujan Hakobyan became champion during
9th pan American team chess championship held in Brazil. Hakobyan
was playing on the second board. 28 chess players participated in
the championship.

Armenian Genocide to be possibly included in Australian school curriculum

18:58, 7 March, 2013

YEREVAN, MARCH 7, ARMENPRESS: Australia has launched a campaign in
order to include the topic of Genocide committed against Armenians,
Greeks and Assyrians in times of Ottoman Empire in the Australian
school curriculum. The campaign follows the decision of the country's
education council, according to which from 2014 Holocaust will be
included in 10th grade's educational programs, Armenpress reports
referring to dunyabulteni.net.

It has been also noted that calls of Armenian, Greek and Assyrian
organization in Austria have caused the Turkish reaction.

Turkish organizations, which are against the campaign, have published
statement in the internet, noting that some circles want to present
`controversial historical events' as Genocide.

February 20, 15:33A 15-year-old girl with Armenian roots was announced the winner of the 2013 Miss Massachusetts Outstanding Teen pageant.Kristina Ayanian, sophomore at Burlington High School, was named Miss Massachusetts Outstanding Teen 2013, Wicked Local reported. Ten contestants competed for the title.She will have the opportunity to compete in the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen pageant to be held in August in Orlando, Fla. She will receive a $2,000 scholarship and various awards and gifts from pageant sponsors

Krikor Sevag MekhitarianMekhitarian secured the title with seven wins, three draws, and one loss, finishing the championship with 8.5/11 points.A Brazilian Armenian, Mekhitarian scored a draw followed by a defeat in the first two rounds of the championship, only to pick himself up and not lose a single match in the following nine rounds.International Master Barbosa Evandro Amorim and Mendonça Mateus Nakajo both secured eight points and came second and third respectively.Mekhitarian was born in São Paulo in 1986. He learned playing chess from his father at the age of six. He won Brazil’s junior (U20) championship twice, in 2003 and 2004. He became a Grandmaster—the highest title in chess—in 2010.

March 9, 2013 - 18:48 AMTPanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia is not a major drug-producing country, and domestic abuse of drugs is modest, Department of State’s 2013 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR).“Because Armenia is landlocked and the two longest of its four borders (with Turkey and Azerbaijan) are closed, the resulting limited transport options make the country less attractive for drug trafficking. With assistance from the United States and European Union, Armenia continues to develop and implement an integrated border management regime, improving its ability to detect illegal narcotics shipments. In addition, in July 2012, the United States provided narcotics interdiction training at Yerevan’s international airport and bus station.The most common illicit drug in Armenia is marijuana, most of which is grown locally. Both marijuana and poppies grow in the wild, and the government sponsors an annual eradication event in August. In 2012, a combined total of nearly 82 metric tons were destroyed.Narcotics seizures declined overall in 2012. Police credit the arrest and dismantlement of several trafficking rings in late 2011 and early 2012 as the reason for the decrease. According to police, the overwhelming majority of illicit drug imports are opiates originating from Afghanistan transiting through Iran, with a smaller volume entering from Turkey via Georgia (as the Turkish border is closed to all traffic). In October, a large seizure occurred on the Iranian border at the Meghri crossing, when opium was discovered in a false-bottomed suitcase.A new smuggling trend along the Iranian border involves plastic balls with light-emitting diodes attached: the balls are thrown across the Arax River at night, with opiates going one way (into Armenia) and payment going the other (into Iran). In addition, authorities have seized smaller quantities of the synthetic opioid buprenorphine from flights originating in France and from parcels mailed from France and Spain. In the past, amphetamines were trafficked from Iran to Europe via Armenia, but this transit appears to have diminished significantly following a major bust. Precursor chemicals are strictly regulated and industrial users must provide status reports every three months,” the report reads.

Rima Makaryan of Santa Rosa French-American Charter School is Santa
Rosa City Schools student of the month for March.

The fifth grader was born in Armenia and her family immigrated to
California in 2010 and Makaryan enrolled at Doyle Park Elementary
School as a third grader.

Makaryan speaks Armenian fluently and speaks Russian as well. When the
French language school opened on the former Doyle Park campus,
Makaryan enrolled and began learning French as well.

An accomplished artist, Makaryan loves to paint and has had her
artwork published in Kid Scoop. She loves to play basketball and hopes
to play competitively next year. She also enjoys hip hop dancing and
riding her bike around Spring Lake with her dad and younger brother,
Arno.

School officials describe Makaryan as a conscientious student who
exhibits enthusiasm and is a great role model for her peers.

March 15, 15:46YEREVAN. – Armenian guitarist and singer Suren Arustamyan was selected finalist and People’s Choice, as a result of the online voting in the contest hat was announced by world-renowned English guitarist and singer-songwriter, Eric Clapton. Arustamyan informed this in his Facebook account.The competing guitarists, who took part the contest from numerous countries, had performed their renditions of Clapton’s song entitled “Cocaine.”

Armenia, Lithuania and Bulgaria presented their culture during theevent organized at UNESCO Headquarters to celebrate InternationalFrancophonie Day and the tenth anniversary of the UNESCO Conventionfor the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Armenia wasrepresented by duduk player Levon Minasyan.

"Musicians and dancers performed masterpieces of the Armenian Duduk,the Bulgarian Bistritsa Babi and the Lithuanian SutartinÄ-s, all ofwhich are inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the IntangibleCultural Heritage, reflecting the wealth of these cultures, theircommon influences and their interactions, handed down from generationto generation, forging close ties between peoples throughout history,"UNESCO said in a statement.

Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova and Armenian Ambassador toFrance Vigen Chitechyan, heads of the international organizationsand diplomatic representations attended the concert held at UNESCOHeadquarters in Paris.

YEREVAN, MARCH 19, ARMENPRESS: Wrestler of Armenia National Wrestling
Team of 66kg Davit Safaryan became Champion of Europe. As reports
Armenpress, in the final of European Freestyle Wrestling Championship
held in Tbilisi, Davit Safaryan scored 2:0 win over Turkish wrestler
Gor Yakup.

Armenian high altitude Lake Sevan may be included in the UNESCO World
Nature Heritage List, Terra Viva environmental movement reports.

On March 29 the environmentalists and members of Terra Viva headed by
Nikolay Drozdov will visit Yerevan to conduct an international
environmental telethone with participation of the profile ministries
and departments of Armenia and representatives of business strictures,
scientists and journalists. As part of the telethone, international
environmentalists will submit an initiative on inclusion of the unique
Lake Sevan, one of the biggest high altitude lakes in the world, in
the UNESCO World Nature Heritage List.

Lake Sevan is situated in the central part of the Republic of Armenia,
inside the Gegharkunik Province, at the altitude of 1,900m above sea
level. It yields only to Lake Titikan.

Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler Artur Alexanyan has retained his title at the 2013 European Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia.

In the final round the Armenian athlete beat Bulgaria’s Vladislav Metodiev to become a double European champion.

Alexanyan first won European gold at competitions in Serbia last year.

On the way to his new success the Armenian, who performs in the 96-kg weight division, beat rivals from Sweden, Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Earlier, another Armenian athlete, David Safaryan (66 kg), became a European freestyle wrestling champion at the competitions in Georgia defeating a competitor from Turkey in the final. And Musa Murtazaliyev (84 kg), also representing Armenia, won a silver medal.

Small Caucasus country is the first in the world to make chess mandatory in schools, aiming to build a better society. Gayatri Parameswaran and Felix Gaedtke Last Modified: 24 Mar 2013 08:38

Susie Hunanyan, 7, takes on a chess opponent in class in Armenia's capital Yerevan [Felix Gaedtke/Al Jazeera] Yerevan, Armenia - Little Susie Hunanyan attended her favourite class in school last week, and it wasn't drawing, crafts or sport. The seven-year-old sat studiously through an hour of chess lessons. In Armenia, learning to play the grand game of strategy in school is mandatory for children - the only country in the world that makes chess compulsory - and the initiative has paid dividends. Armenia, a Caucasus country with a population of just three million, is a chess powerhouse. Susie listened attentively as her teacher explained chess moves on a large board in front of the class at the Yeghishe Charents Basic School in the capital, Yerevan. "I like chess lessons a lot. They always pass by smoothly," she said, setting up pieces sequentially on her board. Armenia has produced more than 30 grandmasters and won the team chess Olympiads in 2006, 2008 and 2012. Armenian champion Levon Aronian is currently the third-best player in the world, according to the World Chess Federation rankings. "My grandpa taught me how to play chess. But now that I learn chess in school, I am better at it than he is."- Susie Hunanyan, 7, chess studentIn 2011, Armenia made chess compulsory for second, third and fourth-graders. That's why Susie and her classmates have two hours of chess every week in school. "My grandpa taught me how to play chess. But now that I learn chess in school, I am better at it than he is," Susie said, adding when she grows up, she'd like to become a chess champion like her idol, Levon Aronian. For an hour, the students playfully engaged in one-on-one matches against each other. "Chess is having a good influence on their performance in other subjects too. The kids are learning how to think, it's making them more confident," said teacher Rosanna Putanyan, watching her pupils play from the periphery. Education projectThe chess initiative is not only meant to scout young talent but also build a better society. Armen Ashotyan, Armenia's education minister, told Al Jazeera the project is aimed at fostering creative thinking. "Chess develops various skills - leadership capacities, decision-making, strategic planning, logical thinking and responsibility," Ashotyan said. "We are building these traits in our youngsters. The future of the world depends on such creative leaders who have the capacity to make the right decisions, as well as the character to take responsibility for wrong decisions." More than $3m has been spent on the project so far to supply chess equipment and learning aids in all Armenian schools, Ashotyan added. The majority of the budget was allocated to train chess players to become good teachers. In coming years, spending on chess is expected to rise, he said. Education Minister Armen Ashotyan [Felix Gaedtke/Al Jazeera]The initiative is also attracting attention from other countries. Later this year, chess will be integrated into the national curriculum of Hungary's elementary schools. Countries such as Moldova, Ukraine and Spain are showing interest in running similar projects. In Britain, the United States, Switzerland, India, Russia and Cuba schools have long offered chess as a subject, though no nationwide legislation making it compulsory exists. Developing mental capacitiesA team of Armenian psychologists headed by Ruben Aghuzumstyan has been researching the impact of chess on young minds since last year. Aghuzumstyan said preliminary results show that children who play chess score better in certain personality traits such as individuality, creative thinking, reflexes and comparative analysis. "During the first few years of school, children are equipped to learn with games. So for kids who are seven, eight and nine, learning is better through games, and chess is an optimised game which develops a lot of areas of the brain," Aghuzumstyan said. The psychologist, who is also a member of the Armenian Chess Federation, said chess improves social skills as well as mental strength. Chess became more popular in the former Soviet republic in the 1960s. Tigran Petrosian, a former world champion who won many accolades for the Soviet Union, became a household name in the 1970s. Ever since, chess has become a staple sport of the country. On sunny days, parks in Yerevan are filled with chess enthusiasts capturing pawns and checkmating kings. Aghuzumustyan explained why chess is so popular in Armenia, a nation with a troubled past. "We have a tough history," he said, referring to the mass killings carried out by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. "Chess is having a good influence on their performance in other subjects too. The kids are learning how to think, it's making them more confident."- Rosanna Putanyan, chess teacher

"Armenians have always been used to solving problems, because we always had problems. For us it often wasn't a question of living well or not, but a question of living or not. And chess is about solving problems on a board. It's not a coincidence that we, as a country, are so good at chess," Aghuzumustyan said. Grooming grandmastersIn one of Yerevan's southern suburbs, an extravagant building complex hosts the Chess Academy of Armenia. On a recent rainy afternoon, dozens of young chess players filed into small training rooms to get advanced lessons. The chess players, some as young as four, are being groomed for a professional career, free of cost thanks to the government. Top-ranked chess players in Armenia win respect and adulation. Massive billboards with photos of the winning Olympiad team of 2012 on Yerevan's streets indicate their star status. And the government provides top players with handsome salaries and perks:Tigran Petrosian, who was part of the gold-winning 2012 team and shares the same name as the country's champion during the 1970s, drives a swanky Mercedes S-550. "We don't have to worry about money. That's a good thing. Although we have corporate sponsors for some events, it's mainly the state that supports and helps us out," said Petrosian as he drank juice in a Yerevan café.The 29-year-old grandmaster said being a chess player in Armenia is a big deal. "I get greeted on the streets when I walk. People chase me home. And I get a lot of fan mail. I am happy to be a chess player in this country." Yerevan Chess House, located in the heart of Armenia's capital, bears testimony to the country's chess mania. Every day dozens of chess players, young and old, spend hours here battling it out on their boards. Magazines, newspapers, books and DVDs about chess are on sale at the chess house's newsstand."Chess 64" is a popular TV show hosted by Gagik Hovhannisian that has been running since 1972. Earlier this year, the government introduced another programme, "Chess World", hosted by 22-year-old Aghasi Inants, to attract youngsters to the sport. On a recent afternoon at the Chess House, Inants said the aim of the series is to popularise chess further. "In one show, we had chess lessons for youngsters, chess news, we also have celebrity interviews, as well as a section on chess history," he said. "One day a mother called me and said that her daughter wasn't willing to do her chess homework until she saw my show … The kid was sure that it would be easier for her to solve her chess homework after she had watched my show," the host recounted proudly. But not all Armenians are mad about chess. Inants' friend David Khachatryan doesn't play and isn't fond of the game either. "I will be very happy the day when football here becomes as important as chess," Khachatryan told Al Jazeera. "It would be great to have a football team as good as our chess team." 1533 Source: Al Jazeera